Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (abbreviated SOFSE; trading name: Trenes Argentinos Operaciones) is an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
state-owned company
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
created in 2008 to operate
passenger
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
services in Argentina. It is a subsidiary of the
Ferrocarriles Argentinos
Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...
holding company.
Since March 2015 SOFSE has run the
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
services
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
,
San Martín
San Martín or San Martin may refer to:
People Saints
* Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish
Political leaders
*Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico.
*Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
,
Roca and
Belgrano Sur lines
previously operated by
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
companies.
History
Background
After the
Railway privatisation in Argentina
Railway privatisation in Argentina was a process which began in 1993 under the presidency of Carlos Menem, following a series of neoliberal economic reforms. This primarily consisted of breaking up the state-owned railway company Ferrocarriles Ar ...
at the beginning of the 1990s the railway assets that had not given in concession were taken over by
Ferrocarriles Argentinos
Ferrocarriles Argentinos (abbreviated as FA; ) was a state-owned company that managed the entire Argentine railway system for nearly 45 years. It was formed in 1948 when all the private railway companies were nationalised during Juan Perón's fir ...
before being dissolved.
From 1996 to 2000 those assets were administered by "Ente Nacional de Administración de Bienes Ferroviarios" (ENABIEF) created through a National Decree promulgated by the Presidency of Argentina. On June 1, 2000, ENABIEF merged to Dirección Nacional de Bienes del Estado.
From then on, the "Organismo Nacional de Administración de Bienes" (ONABE) began its activities as an organisation created to manage the assets not directly affected by State activities.
Law 26.352 promulgated in 2008 re-organized the railway operations in Argentina creating two State organisations, the "Administración de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias" (ADIF) and the "Operadora Ferroviaria" (SOFSE). Decree N° 752/08 regulated the activities by the recently established company since then.
Further operations
Although having been established in 2008, SOFSE became active two years later, when the organisation took over the railway services in
Chaco Province
Chaco (; Wichi: ''To-kós-wet''), officially the Province of Chaco ( es, provincia del Chaco ), is one of the 23 provinces in Argentina. Its capital and largest city, is Resistencia. It is located in the north-east of the country.
It is borde ...
left by
Servicios Ferroviarios del Chaco (SEFECHA). In 2011 the organisation added the regional services of
Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
and
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
Provinces. When the Ministry of Transport was created in 2012, SOFSE took over all the urban services not granted in concession of
Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...
. The society also began to operate interurban services such as train services to
Córdoba,
Tucumán cities and other services previously operated by the Government of
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east.
Its capital is Paraná ( ...
.
In June 2013, SOFSE took over the
Tren de la Costa
Tren de la Costa (in English: "Train of the Coast") is a suburban , 11-station light rail line in Greater Buenos Aires, between Maipú Avenue station in the northern suburb of Olivos and Delta station in Tigre, on the Río de la Plata. The l ...
when the Government decided the company would be managed by the Argentine State after revoking the contract with
Sociedad Comercial del Plata
Sociedad Comercial del Plata is a diversified Argentine holding company, with interests primarily in the energy, rail transport, real estate, and tourism sectors.
Overview
Sociedad Comercial del Plata was founded in Buenos Aires on June 7, 1927, ...
.
In September 2013, the Government of Argentina designed SOFSE to operate the
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
and
Sarmiento Sarmiento may refer to:
Places Argentina
*Sarmiento Department, San Juan, a subdivision of the San Juan Province
*Sarmiento Department, Santiago del Estero, a subdivision of the Santiago del Estero Province
*Sarmiento Department, Chubut, a subdivi ...
lines, after their contracts of concession were revoked to
Trenes de Buenos Aires
Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA) (In English: Trains of Buenos Aires) was a private company that operated commuter rail services over the broad gauge Sarmiento and Mitre lines of Buenos Aires. The company, owned by Claudio and Mario Cirigliano, als ...
. This decision was officially promulgated through Resolution N° 1083/13.
SOFSE temporarily operated the Mitre line until the Government of Argentina re-privatised it, giving the line concession to "Corredores Ferroviarios S.A." (a private company part of
Emepa Group
Emepa Group S.A. ( es, Grupo Emepa, an acronym for Empresa Metalúrgica Patricias Argentinas) ) on February 12, 2014.
In December 2014, brand new trains acquired by the
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. ...
from
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
company
CNR Dalian
CRRC Dalian Co., Ltd. (), often abbreviated as DLoco, is a company located in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, producing railway locomotives, multiple units and diesel engines.
The factory was established in 1899 during the period of constructio ...
, started to run luxury services from
Constitución to
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
. The classic service continued to be operated by
Ferrobaires
The Unidad Ejecutora del Plan Ferroviario Provincial (UEPFP) (in English: "Executive Unit of the Provincial Railway Plan"), mostly known under its trade name Ferrobaires, was a public railway company which operated extensive long-distance passen ...
.
In February 2015, services from Buenos Aires to
Rufino, Santa Fe
Rufino is a city in the Provinces of Argentina, province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe, Argentina. It has 18,980 inhabitants as per the . It lies on the southwest of the province, from the main metropolitan area of the province Greater Rosario, f ...
were reestablished after 22 years. The service runs with brand-new trains acquired from China on
Ferrocarril San Martín tracks. Trains make stops at
Chacabuco
Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...
,
Junín,
Vedia and
Alberdi, among other stations.
In March 2015, SOFSE started to run the
CNR CKD8 trains from
Retiro to
Córdoba. Due to the poor condition of the tracks, trains took 19½ hours to run the . This was more than twice the time that it took in 1938, when services operated by
Central Argentine took 9 hours to connect both cities with two intermediate stops.
Commuter rail renationalisation
SOFSE took over Belgrano Sur and Roca (operated by
Argentren
Argentren S.A. was an Argentine private company that operated the Belgrano Sur and Roca railway services in Buenos Aires Province for about one year until the Government of Argentina rescinded the agreement with the company in March 2015. ...
) and Mitre and San Martín (operated by
Corredores Ferroviarios) lines after the
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. ...
rescinded the contracts signed with both companies on March 2, 2015. The contract terms specified that the concession could be cancelled with no right to claim compensation.
The agreements had been signed in February 2014, committing Argentren and Corredores Ferroviarios to operate the lines.
Current situation
In January 2016, the Ministry of Transport ceased operations over services to
La Pampa Province
La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza.
History
In ...
. The Government took the decision based on the low demand of the
Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose.
Santa Rosa may also refer to:
Places Argentina
*Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city
* Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, La Pampa
* S ...
–
General Pico
General Pico is a city located in the northeast of La Pampa Province, Argentina. It is located at above sea level and inside the region of the ''Pampa Húmeda Llana'' (Flat-Humid Pampas). It has a surface area of .
With a population of 53,352 ( ...
line and the poor conditions of some bridges that had deteriorated after the flooding in August 2015.
In June 2016, the Buenos Aires–Rosario service extended operations to
Rosario Norte Station
Rosario Norte is a railway station in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located on Aristóbulo del Valle Avenue, at the junction with Callao St., north of the city centre, in the neighbourhood known as Barrio Pichincha.
The station ...
(located at the north of the city, closer to the downtown) instead of
Rosario Sur, which had been terminus until then.
Services operated
The following is a list of services operated by Operadora Ferroviaria in Argentina. The list includes urban railways such as
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
,
San Martín
San Martín or San Martin may refer to:
People Saints
* Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish
Political leaders
*Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico.
*Basilio San Martin (1849 ...
,
Roca and
Belgrano Sur lines previously managed by
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
companies. The ''Binational'' service
Posadas-Encarnación is run by Casimiro Zbikoski S.A. through an operation agreement with SOFSE.
Metropolitan
Commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
services within the
Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
:
[Recorridos - Área metropolitana]
on Trenes Argentinos, 31 Jul 2022
Long distance
Inter-city services along Argentina, as of December 2022:
[Servicios regionales y de larga distancia]
on Trenes Argentinos, 31 Jul 2022
;Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado
Railway companies of Argentina
Railway companies established in 2008
Argentine brands